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Derrick shook his head. They knew him so well. “Let’s go see our girl.”
After Ian left, Lainie led him to the elevator that took them where they needed to go. Once they got there, the women stayed in the small waiting room outside the unit so he could have a few minutes alone with her.
Nothing could have prepared Derrick for what he saw, his beautiful Red surrounded by tubes and machines. He hovered in the doorway, almost afraid to enter. He was completely out of his element. This wasn’t something he could just pull his gun on or beat the shit out of. He was absolutely helpless in this situation, and it sucked.
“Hey, sugar. You can go in and sit by her if you want to.” A woman in the brightest lime green scrubs came up beside him. “My name is Heather, and I’ll be her nurse the rest of the night.”
“What is all of that?” He waved at the machinery attached to his beautiful but battered woman.
“The piece of equipment to her right, attached to the tube in her throat, is a ventilator. She just had major surgery, and it was hard on her body, so they are keeping her sedated and allowing the ventilator to do the work for her, giving her body a chance to rest. Once the doctors feel it’s safe, they will start to wean her from the sedating medications and allow her to begin to wake up. Over there are her IV pumps. She has several medications all going at the same time, and each needs its own pump, which can make it seem like a lot of things going on, but, I assure you, we’ve got it under control.”
She spoke with an air of authority. She wore bright happy scrubs, but there was no doubt in his mind she knew what she was talking about and his woman was in good hands. He sat in the chair next to Samantha. “Just hold on, Red. I’ve got you, and I swear I will never let you go.” He held her hand as he spoke, careful to avoid the IV.
He sat there as her friends came in one at a time—unable to make himself leave the room so they could both come in together. Tears flowed down their faces as they gave their love and promises to take care of her when she awoke.
Once the room calmed down except for the constant buzz of machinery, Derrick leaned back and closed his eyes, resting for the first time in days.
15
Damn, somebody needs to turn off that frickin’ alarm clock.The constant buzzing in the background was driving Samantha crazy. Why wouldn’t someone just turn it off? She tried to open her eyes, but the heaviness made it difficult. She needed to get up if she was going to get to work on time but couldn’t seem to make it happen, so she decided to just go back to sleep. She was never late; snoozing a little this morning couldn’t hurt too much, could it?
But how could she sleep with such a headache? Her head felt as if it could literally explode right off her body. She couldn’t remember a time when she had felt this bad. The thought of opening her eyes to the bright lights she knew had to be waiting for her made her want to reconsider waking up. Did she actually have to open her eyes? She could lie here with them closed forever—that was an option, right?
“Hey there, Red. Can you open your beautiful eyes for me?” She would know that voice no matter how tired she was, but even though she wanted to do as he asked, the thought of bright light on top of the massive pounding in her skull made it impossible, so she turned away from his voice.
“Sir, don’t push. It may take her a while to wake up after the ordeal she’s been through.”Whose voice was that?She was confused about what she was hearing.
“You don’t know my Red the way I do, so you need to back off.” Was that a growl in her Dom’s voice?
“Sir, I’m her doctor, and you need to listen to me.” Doctor? Things were seriously taking a strange turn.
Why is it so fucking difficult to open my damn eyes?
“I don’t give a flying fuck if you’re the Dalai Lama. It has been days, and you’ve done shit about the fact she hasn’t opened her eyes since you took that damn tube out of her throat, so now it’s my turn. In fact, I think you need to turn around and walk the fuck out of here.”
Tube in my throat?
“Derrick, you can’t just threaten the residents. I know he doesn’t come across as being as aggressive with her treatment as you would like, but I am in agreement with the plan.”
What is Ian doing here?
“Listen, Red. It’s time to wake up. I get it that the doctors know what they’re doing, but I know you. You will listen to me and do as I instruct. Open those beautiful green eyes, now.” His Dom voice pierced the fuzziness in her brain, and she felt the need to obey, even through the raging pain in her head.
Samantha cracked her eyes open, ever so slightly, and the light increased the pain she was feeling ten-fold. The nausea accompanying it almost did her in.
“Red, breathe. Nice slow deep breaths.” She opened her eyes wider and was staring into the most beautiful sight she could imagine. Derrick’s eyes held depths few would ever understand, and, even through the pain, she counted herself lucky that he was hers.
“Hi, Sir.” Her voice sounded scratchy to her own ears.
“I’m going to get your nurse to check you out then we can talk, okay?” He stroked her cheek before rising and leaving the room.
Samantha closed her eyes again, and the memories overtook her. The pain and the fear. The evil in Kyle’s eyes. The feeling of hopelessness that had crept in. She tried to remember how she came to be at the hospital but could only draw a blank. Then she knew. “John,” she whispered, recalling how she had been tricked by her resident.
“We’re looking for that asshole, and he’d better keep running if he knows what’s good for him.” Derrick returned, followed by a woman in scrubs who she assumed was her nurse.
“Sir, we need to keep her calm. You coming in all growly and threatening certainly won’t help with that.” Did this woman know her man at all? There was no way he would back down.
She decided to head off any possible issues between the two before they could begin. “I’m used to it. He does have a sexy growl, doesn’t he?”
